Well, I can't believe that I finally get to say that my event is this weekend! In two days, I'll be joined by about 800 ladies who want to swim, bike, and run their way to the finish! The Mermaid Triathlon is on Sunday, 06/07/09, 4 months after I started this journey!
I've been tracking my workouts along the way, unfortunately, I missed an entire month of tracking when I wasn't quite sure just what I was doing... training with no purpose. However, I do have some pretty exciting totals for about 3 months of my activity. Take a look:
Running
145Mi
19,727 calories
Walking
31Mi
4,285 calories
Biking
325Mi
15,238 calories
Spinning
16 classes
13,195 calories
Swimming
51,454 yds
14,853 calories
Elliptical
1 measly effort - stuck at a hotel!
276 calories
28 other workouts - including yoga, boot camp, pilates, and even some dancing!
During this time, I had a few pit falls to my workouts, like going on vacation, getting pneumonia, a few colds, but finished up with NO INJURIES TO REPORT! What a major success!
After looking back at the entire adventure, I can say, this has been such a fun time in my life. I tend to look at life with rose colored glasses, so maybe if I went back and reread my journals, I would recall the dark moments of exhaustion and fatigue, but all I can really remember right now, is what a wonderful experience I've had. I've given myself the chance to reclaim my strength, to be honest to myself about my physical fitness, to learn my limitations and set goals to exceed them, to achieve and sometimes miss my goals, to have my ego crushed, to feel pain, to remember my youth and incorporate it into my life, to feel powerful, to be embarrassed, to put myself first, to feel failure, to feel confident, to swim again, to buy a road bike, to run with less effort, to be unafraid of my exterior self and become reliant upon my inner self, and to put myself in an uncomfortable position, and see just what I was made of.
I've been asked by some acquaintances why I decided to do this, and how I can sustain it. Well, the why is pretty simple... I made a decision to change my life last year, and the moment I made up my mind, I moved forward. Every single day I tried to focus on bringing positive aspects into my life, and voila, they appeared! I love triathlon, but I think it's just one of the many undertakings I've focused on, in the effort to overcome some personal struggles with body image and eating disorders.
The how, well, that's more complicated. Firstly, I relied upon myself, and put myself first. I know this can be selfish sounding, but I'm the only person that can do the work to better myself, so in order to make that happen, I had to place focus there. Next, I have great support. My fiance does nothing but encourages, and along the way has learned to supplement my training by taking on some of my "chores"... don't think they go unnoticed; my family checks in, cheers, laughs, and listens when I cry; my training partner and friend calls before each workout to be sure we are going, helps to motivate me with the uneasy picture of a bikini when I'm feeling tired, laughs at me when I screw up, and always comments on my successes; and my coaches and training teams keep pushing my boundaries. Then I think, comes my organization... lists, schedules, organizing three bags of clothes the night before, washing one item and knowing to grab it in the morning so I have pants on my run! I would be nowhere without my lists! I think I showed up just one time without any underwear to change into afterward... not so bad! In addition, I think timing has been important. I'm lucky right now to be in a time in my life where I can do all of this. I have a good job, no children, a supporting fiance, family nearby, and live in a town that's about 65 degrees and sunny almost everyday! We've got mountains, ocean, lakes, rivers, hills, and an abundance of scenery to take in during the workouts. Believe me, riding your bike 25 miles after work, in Santa Cruz, along the coast on a sunny day, is really no chore at all! And of course, there's the willingness to give myself to something. To set a goal, and to work until it's fulfilled, and to stay dedicated to it, no matter how much pain I was experiencing.
So that's that. I've said enough! If I didn't stop myself, I think I could just go on and on. The truth of the matter is that triathlon is not the most important thing in the world, at all, and it's not the singular thing that I want to define me. But it is something I've decided to undertake for a little while, so I'm giving it my all. I've asked a lot of myself and those who support me, and I'm thankful that we've all come through. Now, if I'm as good a triathlete as I am a b-s-er, I think I'm in for a medal on Sunday!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Energetic and Playful!
05/28/09 - Bike
Just writing to share some of my excitement. Up until this point, I've just been kind of blindly riding my bike on my weekly rides. This is the area that I like and know the least about. I begrudgingly have to pull out my bike a few times a week, knowing that at some point, I am going to hit a hill that will kill and possibly defeat me! That is, until last night! We've started a new weekly group training that involves coached drills and technique for cycling. Think of it as track practice for biking!
I arrived last night, feeling pretty apprehensive, even considering leaving... I road my bike to work, and thought, I could just keep on going past the ride meet-up and straight to the house. Well, this wouldn't really help my training, so I decided to suck it up and see what this training had to offer. Worst case scenario, I'll just turn around, or cry, or worse yet, walk!! HA! (I had imagined some pretty bad scenarios of never ending hills!) Our coach was of course, due to our club's exceedingly high standards, an elite athlete. He had wonderful ideas and concepts about how to approach biking, that had me looking at the sport differently, and actually feeling relaxed about it. But, even better, we got drilled on technique. FINALLY! This is what I've been missing out of this program!
We did some pedaling technique and just lapped around a 2 mile block. Then, it was on to some drills, where you're in your hardest gear, at a very low speed, and then very quickly increase speed and hit a hill, while maintaining that hard gear and never lifting off your seat. This was great. The coach just watched and pulled us in each time to give us advice on updating our technique, moving from our core, staying stable on the bike, not pulling on the handle bars, keeping your back flat... before I knew it, I was increasing speed in a fluid motion, and at a great pace. I was so happy with myself, that at the end of practice, I literally whistled my whole bike ride home!
05/29/09 - Swim
Really nice swim this morning. I'm not sure what it was about it, but I felt like a kid this morning... energetic and playful. I did some 500m repeats, a few pulling sets, and then did some drills from the old days of water polo (head-up freestyle)... man is that hard and fun! I actually think that it's great for building up the arm muscles, and am adding it to my repretoire! Also threw in some other strokes, I did a few sets of butterfly, back, and breaststroke. Sure, these strokes might not be essential to my training, but they were fun. By the end of my 1900m's I just wanted to stay in the pool and play around. Which is what I did! I did a little underwater swimming, followed by a couple of somersaults, and finally floated on my back.
While I was floating, I thought back to the days when we'd get to swim practice, only to find out that it was a fun day... this meant no organized practice, and often involved an oiled up watermelon! These were the best nights of the entire summer! I've got to find someone in town with a pool, I don't think my summer will be complete now without pushing an oiled up watermelon through the water!
Just writing to share some of my excitement. Up until this point, I've just been kind of blindly riding my bike on my weekly rides. This is the area that I like and know the least about. I begrudgingly have to pull out my bike a few times a week, knowing that at some point, I am going to hit a hill that will kill and possibly defeat me! That is, until last night! We've started a new weekly group training that involves coached drills and technique for cycling. Think of it as track practice for biking!
I arrived last night, feeling pretty apprehensive, even considering leaving... I road my bike to work, and thought, I could just keep on going past the ride meet-up and straight to the house. Well, this wouldn't really help my training, so I decided to suck it up and see what this training had to offer. Worst case scenario, I'll just turn around, or cry, or worse yet, walk!! HA! (I had imagined some pretty bad scenarios of never ending hills!) Our coach was of course, due to our club's exceedingly high standards, an elite athlete. He had wonderful ideas and concepts about how to approach biking, that had me looking at the sport differently, and actually feeling relaxed about it. But, even better, we got drilled on technique. FINALLY! This is what I've been missing out of this program!
We did some pedaling technique and just lapped around a 2 mile block. Then, it was on to some drills, where you're in your hardest gear, at a very low speed, and then very quickly increase speed and hit a hill, while maintaining that hard gear and never lifting off your seat. This was great. The coach just watched and pulled us in each time to give us advice on updating our technique, moving from our core, staying stable on the bike, not pulling on the handle bars, keeping your back flat... before I knew it, I was increasing speed in a fluid motion, and at a great pace. I was so happy with myself, that at the end of practice, I literally whistled my whole bike ride home!
05/29/09 - Swim
Really nice swim this morning. I'm not sure what it was about it, but I felt like a kid this morning... energetic and playful. I did some 500m repeats, a few pulling sets, and then did some drills from the old days of water polo (head-up freestyle)... man is that hard and fun! I actually think that it's great for building up the arm muscles, and am adding it to my repretoire! Also threw in some other strokes, I did a few sets of butterfly, back, and breaststroke. Sure, these strokes might not be essential to my training, but they were fun. By the end of my 1900m's I just wanted to stay in the pool and play around. Which is what I did! I did a little underwater swimming, followed by a couple of somersaults, and finally floated on my back.
While I was floating, I thought back to the days when we'd get to swim practice, only to find out that it was a fun day... this meant no organized practice, and often involved an oiled up watermelon! These were the best nights of the entire summer! I've got to find someone in town with a pool, I don't think my summer will be complete now without pushing an oiled up watermelon through the water!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Goodness...
I haven't forgotten to post the details on the tri, I'm just waiting for a friend to send me the pics. How totally typical, after 16 weeks of build-up, writing a blog every couple days, I just fudge the end and give up... NEVER! They're on the way!
In the mean time, since the triathlon, I've had some good moments. I had a track practice where I was practicing out an 8-minute/mile 10k pace.... yes, that's what I said. 8! My coach thinks that by the end of the season, 8 will be within my reach. Now, let me preface this by saying, that last year at this time, I was barely making it to the end of my block without stopping to walk. My pace was nonexistent, because when you're doing 15 minute miles, you don't care. Here I am now, and what a change. No, it's not that I keep pace... to be honest, I rarely even wear my watch, but to cut running time in half in just one year is exciting. It has me really looking forward to next year!! (And no, I'll bet my savings that I won't be cutting time in half again! HA!)
In the midst of these good training sessions, I had some horrible bouts of ear infections to deal with last week, along with a girl's trip out of town. I didn't get quite as much training in as I'd like to, but I think I'm still on target for my race next weekend. I've done all the training, this blog is my testament to that, now I just have to maintain, rest, and hope for a peak performance on the 7th. Then, it's time to show no mercy as I begin another base building phase (which mean lots of 2xday workouts) and then move forward to another peak in September. I'll keep ya posted!
In the mean time, since the triathlon, I've had some good moments. I had a track practice where I was practicing out an 8-minute/mile 10k pace.... yes, that's what I said. 8! My coach thinks that by the end of the season, 8 will be within my reach. Now, let me preface this by saying, that last year at this time, I was barely making it to the end of my block without stopping to walk. My pace was nonexistent, because when you're doing 15 minute miles, you don't care. Here I am now, and what a change. No, it's not that I keep pace... to be honest, I rarely even wear my watch, but to cut running time in half in just one year is exciting. It has me really looking forward to next year!! (And no, I'll bet my savings that I won't be cutting time in half again! HA!)
In the midst of these good training sessions, I had some horrible bouts of ear infections to deal with last week, along with a girl's trip out of town. I didn't get quite as much training in as I'd like to, but I think I'm still on target for my race next weekend. I've done all the training, this blog is my testament to that, now I just have to maintain, rest, and hope for a peak performance on the 7th. Then, it's time to show no mercy as I begin another base building phase (which mean lots of 2xday workouts) and then move forward to another peak in September. I'll keep ya posted!
Friday, May 22, 2009
I Did It!
I'm a triathlete! I've got photos and a story to come soon. I've been unable to put it all together yet, but have no fear, I crossed the finish line. It was a huge personal success, and I did better than expected. All my efforts had a great pay off.
The next race is on June 7th, so I'm playing with my workout schedule. Trying to recover from my last race, keep my fitness up and fine tune a few things, and then I have to taper again. After that, I step it up a lot! I'm doubling the distance I've been training for, and will begin training for an Olympic triathlon. Giggity, giggity!
UPDATE
Here are some pics of the Nu2Tri Graduation Triathlon! The race went great. I was 2nd out of the water (some fish beat me), but then my transition practice paid off, so I left and finished first on the bike, then I slowed down... alot on the run! I'm not a runner, but I still managed to sprint the last .5 mile or so!
Trying on my race belt to ensure it fits!
No, the women on the bikes are NOT in the race, but they did enjoy slowly riding through the middle of the course.... see me checking behind me to see how close the next cyclist is!
The final sprint!
2009 Nu2Tri Triathletes!
The next race is on June 7th, so I'm playing with my workout schedule. Trying to recover from my last race, keep my fitness up and fine tune a few things, and then I have to taper again. After that, I step it up a lot! I'm doubling the distance I've been training for, and will begin training for an Olympic triathlon. Giggity, giggity!
UPDATE
Here are some pics of the Nu2Tri Graduation Triathlon! The race went great. I was 2nd out of the water (some fish beat me), but then my transition practice paid off, so I left and finished first on the bike, then I slowed down... alot on the run! I'm not a runner, but I still managed to sprint the last .5 mile or so!
Trying on my race belt to ensure it fits!
On your marks!!!! I almost started getting sick, but then realized I needed to start swimming. I'm in the yellow, the girl in the lane farther from me is the one that passed me... she never came to any of our swims, so I didn't even see it coming!
No, the women on the bikes are NOT in the race, but they did enjoy slowly riding through the middle of the course.... see me checking behind me to see how close the next cyclist is!
The final sprint!
2009 Nu2Tri Triathletes!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Slowin Down
05/11/09 - 05/13/09
Well, I'm just a few days away from my first triathlon. The last 15 or so weeks have passed by in a blur, but one thing is for sure, I've come a long way from when I first started. I'm now equipped and trained to finish my race on Saturday. This week, I'm just focusing on getting mentally prepared for the event.... believing that I can do it has been a little hard for me the last few days. I'm doing my best to get back the confidence I had, but it seems that under stress I sometimes don't have the strength to carry on with everything. Balancing life, family, friends, work, sleep, eating, triathlon, and all the rest of it may be taking an emotional toll on me right now.
However, the good news is that those feelings of doubt seem to dissipate the moment I start doing one of my activities. I was having a rough day yesterday, but after an evening of biking my race-day course and practicing T2 transitions, I felt that surge of strength come right back. I'm just doing my best to remember that feeling, and carry it with me throughout the day. As I type this, I literally feel like just putting my head on the keyboard and going to sleep though... like I said, I'm struggling a bit.
I'm pretty sure that some continued successes, good nights of sleep, and light workouts should get me back in the right frame of mind. As of Monday, I've begun tapering, which means I'm cutting the length and intensity of my workouts. This allows me to rest up my muscles for the big race day, while still maintaining a certain level of fitness. The other thing I'm doing is practicing some final details, like going and actually walking the race course to visualize all the details, riding my bike to learn just when I should be shifting, picking spots on the race course that are reminders to drink electrolytes, perfecting my flip turns, putting on and taking off all the necessary components at each transition so that it becomes second nature. The less I have to think about on race day, the more I can just relax, push hard, and have fun!
The name of the game for me since the day I started all my training has been fun. I know that sometimes I've complained because it's been challenging, but at no point can I actually look back and say that I wasn't smiling through the whole thing. That in itself, may be my greatest success!
Well, I'm just a few days away from my first triathlon. The last 15 or so weeks have passed by in a blur, but one thing is for sure, I've come a long way from when I first started. I'm now equipped and trained to finish my race on Saturday. This week, I'm just focusing on getting mentally prepared for the event.... believing that I can do it has been a little hard for me the last few days. I'm doing my best to get back the confidence I had, but it seems that under stress I sometimes don't have the strength to carry on with everything. Balancing life, family, friends, work, sleep, eating, triathlon, and all the rest of it may be taking an emotional toll on me right now.
However, the good news is that those feelings of doubt seem to dissipate the moment I start doing one of my activities. I was having a rough day yesterday, but after an evening of biking my race-day course and practicing T2 transitions, I felt that surge of strength come right back. I'm just doing my best to remember that feeling, and carry it with me throughout the day. As I type this, I literally feel like just putting my head on the keyboard and going to sleep though... like I said, I'm struggling a bit.
I'm pretty sure that some continued successes, good nights of sleep, and light workouts should get me back in the right frame of mind. As of Monday, I've begun tapering, which means I'm cutting the length and intensity of my workouts. This allows me to rest up my muscles for the big race day, while still maintaining a certain level of fitness. The other thing I'm doing is practicing some final details, like going and actually walking the race course to visualize all the details, riding my bike to learn just when I should be shifting, picking spots on the race course that are reminders to drink electrolytes, perfecting my flip turns, putting on and taking off all the necessary components at each transition so that it becomes second nature. The less I have to think about on race day, the more I can just relax, push hard, and have fun!
The name of the game for me since the day I started all my training has been fun. I know that sometimes I've complained because it's been challenging, but at no point can I actually look back and say that I wasn't smiling through the whole thing. That in itself, may be my greatest success!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Week 15!
05/05/09 - 05/10/09
This was a great training week. We were pelted with just a bit of weather, but then conditions broke way to provide some awesome training weather. I won't bore you with the details, but I just used this week to show myself that I am ready! I pushed hard a few times, a relaxed a few others, and all in all, I just felt fit.
I finished up my 15th week of triathlon training, pulled the buckle on my belt loop one smaller, and have now begun mentally preparing myself for next weekend... my first Tri! I'll spend most of the week tapering and doing some transition training. I'm hoping my elite athlete of a brother will guide me through the cumbersome process of going from wetsuit, to bike, to run, so that by Sunday, I'm a transition queen. Other than greasing the bike, laying out my clothes, and getting some rest, I'm ready. I'm trained, and actually confident that this should be a fun experience!
Only bummer was that I missed our re-scheduled practice triathlon. I was out of town this weekend visiting the fam for Mother's Day, but the below pic is what I could have been doing... should I be worried that my teammates now have the edge on me?????
This was a great training week. We were pelted with just a bit of weather, but then conditions broke way to provide some awesome training weather. I won't bore you with the details, but I just used this week to show myself that I am ready! I pushed hard a few times, a relaxed a few others, and all in all, I just felt fit.
I finished up my 15th week of triathlon training, pulled the buckle on my belt loop one smaller, and have now begun mentally preparing myself for next weekend... my first Tri! I'll spend most of the week tapering and doing some transition training. I'm hoping my elite athlete of a brother will guide me through the cumbersome process of going from wetsuit, to bike, to run, so that by Sunday, I'm a transition queen. Other than greasing the bike, laying out my clothes, and getting some rest, I'm ready. I'm trained, and actually confident that this should be a fun experience!
Only bummer was that I missed our re-scheduled practice triathlon. I was out of town this weekend visiting the fam for Mother's Day, but the below pic is what I could have been doing... should I be worried that my teammates now have the edge on me?????
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
I Take that Back
05/04/09 - Track
I was on the phone with my mom last night as I drove to the track. I was telling her how humid it was, and complaining about being tired. I explained that Santa Cruz was balmy all day yesterday, and I was just waiting for the moment when the clouds would burst and finally relieve us from the humidity with a cooling rain. She said to just get out there and run, and I'll feel much better. Well, I thought, what does she know! She's not the one busting her butt everyday, 7 days a week! Sometimes I just get tired!
I begrudgingly headed up to the track, started my warm-up and had to strip off my jacket with just one lap under my belt! It got warm super fast! We started with some 3/4 mile (1200m) repeats at a fast pace, and on queue, a gentle mist started falling. It was the type of mist that has you feeling like the clouds have fallen down from the heavens to join you on the ground. One one of our 1200's, our coach came by to help us loosen up. He has an amazing ability to get you to forget about your feet, bring the effort to your large muscles, and within seconds, leave you running in better form and with less effort! I literally felt like I was running on clouds.
After the 1200's we were in for a treat! 500m repeats with the last 100m being an all out sprint! It was cool outside, a little wet, there was a slight breeze... this weather was made for sprinting! Between each sprint we did a half lap or so cool down, which was so easy to do with all the moisture surrounding us. There was just a small group of people that showed up to the track, and we had such a great time cheering each other in to the finish. (I should make a side note, this is a big deal... we never cheer each other along. No matter how much I try to be a cheerleader, our die hard triathletes just seem too focused to care. Today was the exception, with one of the women we have termed "The Angry Clown" even joining in! Everyone was in a great mood!)
It's so funny how a good run or practice can shift your mood so quickly. I went from feeling tired to being so energized that I had to call my mom at the end of practice to let her know, she was right! Of course, I won't tell her that too much, don't want it going to her head or anything!
I was on the phone with my mom last night as I drove to the track. I was telling her how humid it was, and complaining about being tired. I explained that Santa Cruz was balmy all day yesterday, and I was just waiting for the moment when the clouds would burst and finally relieve us from the humidity with a cooling rain. She said to just get out there and run, and I'll feel much better. Well, I thought, what does she know! She's not the one busting her butt everyday, 7 days a week! Sometimes I just get tired!
I begrudgingly headed up to the track, started my warm-up and had to strip off my jacket with just one lap under my belt! It got warm super fast! We started with some 3/4 mile (1200m) repeats at a fast pace, and on queue, a gentle mist started falling. It was the type of mist that has you feeling like the clouds have fallen down from the heavens to join you on the ground. One one of our 1200's, our coach came by to help us loosen up. He has an amazing ability to get you to forget about your feet, bring the effort to your large muscles, and within seconds, leave you running in better form and with less effort! I literally felt like I was running on clouds.
After the 1200's we were in for a treat! 500m repeats with the last 100m being an all out sprint! It was cool outside, a little wet, there was a slight breeze... this weather was made for sprinting! Between each sprint we did a half lap or so cool down, which was so easy to do with all the moisture surrounding us. There was just a small group of people that showed up to the track, and we had such a great time cheering each other in to the finish. (I should make a side note, this is a big deal... we never cheer each other along. No matter how much I try to be a cheerleader, our die hard triathletes just seem too focused to care. Today was the exception, with one of the women we have termed "The Angry Clown" even joining in! Everyone was in a great mood!)
It's so funny how a good run or practice can shift your mood so quickly. I went from feeling tired to being so energized that I had to call my mom at the end of practice to let her know, she was right! Of course, I won't tell her that too much, don't want it going to her head or anything!
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